Historical Sikh Events: Komagatu Maru

On May 23, 1914, 376 British Subjects (340 Sikhs,
12 Hindus and 24 Muslims) of Indian origin arrived at Burrard Inlet,
Vancouver on May 23, 1914, from the Indian sub-continent on the ship
Komagata Maru (Guru Nanak Jahaz), seeking to enter Canada. Due to
the racist immigration policy of the Dominion of Canada, 352 of the
passengers were denied entry and forced to depart on July 23, 1914.

In the year 1900 the census reported 2050 people from India on the North
American continent. The majority of these people were Punjabis who had
settled in Canada. They had come with the hope of finding work so that
they could improve their economic situation from what it had been in the
Punjab. Upon arrival in Canada they encountered numerous hardships and
discrimination. Canadians wanted the "brown invasion" to stop.
They felt that the growing number of Indians would take over their jobs
in factories, mills and lumber yards.

It was these insecurities which led British Columbia to pass stringent
laws discouraging the immigration of Indians to Canada. Indians had to
have at least $200 on their person to enter British Columbia and had to
have come via direct passage from India. These were very unreasonable
laws as the average Indian only earned about ten cents a day. The Canadian
government was also pressuring steamship companies to stop selling tickets
to Indians. In 1907 a bill was passed denying all Indians the right to
vote. They were prohibited to run for public office, serve on juries,
and were not permitted to become accountants, lawyers or pharmacists.
All this was done to stop the "brown Invasion." On the other
hand Japanese and Chinese were immigrating in unlimited numbers.

In 1914 the Komagata Maru was an outright challenge to these exclusionist
laws. The Komagata Maru was a Japanese steamliner chartered by an affluent
businessman, Gurdit Singh, to bring Indian immigrants to Canada. The ship's
route departed from Hong Kong, stopped in Japan and then headed to Canada.
Its passengers included 376 Indians, all Punjabis, among whom 340 were
Sikhs, 12 Hindus, and 24 Muslims. The ship was eventually turned back
at Vancouver where landing was refused, and terminated eventually at Calcutta.

"Bhai Gurdit Singh, Bhai Daljit Singh and his friend Bhai Vir Singh
from Ferozepur were staying in the Sikh Temple of Hong Kong in 1914. The
story of Chief Justice Hunter's judgment in Victoria, B.C., about the
release of 39 Asian Indians was on everybody's lips. The emigrants were
overjoyed. Bhai Daljit Singh began selling tickets for departures to Canada.
However, the British Government of Hong Kong was watching the activities
of Bhai Gurdit Singh because the charter of Komagata Maru was in his name.
Two days before the ship was to sail, Bhai Gurdit Singh was arrested by
Hong Kong police on the charge of illegally selling tickets for an illegal
voyage and the ship placed under police guard. The Sikh Police of Hong
Kong were often used to terrorize prospective emigrants.
"Bhai Gurdit Singh was released on bail on March 24, 1914. Mr. Severn,
chief secretary for the Governor of Hong Kong, was known to Bhai Gurdit
Singh while he was in Malaya. Mr. Severn told Singh that he had been waiting
instructions from England and Canada, which never arrived. The governor
granted Singh permission for passage on April 4, 1914.

"That very day Komagata Maru left Hong Kong with
150 passengers. On April 8 at Shanghai, 111 emigrants boarded the ship,
and on April 14, at the Port of Moji, 86, at the Yokohama port, 14 more
passengers boarded the Komagata Maru totalling 376 passengers. From
Moji, Bhai Gurdit Singh took 1500 tons of coal to sell in Canada and
had intended to buy lumber from B.C. to sell back in the East. Finally,
the Komagata Maru left Yokohama on May 3, 1914."[There were words
of caution from several quarters to the passengers.] Bhai Balwant Singh
travelled in the Komagata Maru from Moji to Kobe and explained to the
passengers the attitude of the British Government of India, Britain,
and Canada towards their mission. Gyani Bhagwan Singh, who was forcibly
deported from Canada on November 19, 1913, also the passengers at Yokohama
and told them the story of his own deportation. Mahamad Barkatullah,
the great teacher, who was professor of Hindustani in the University
of Tokyo, also met the passengers of Maru in Yokohama.
When Komagata Maru made it to Shanghai, a German cable company sent
a message to the German press announcing the departure of the steamer
Komagata Maru from Shanghai for Vancouver on April 14 with "400
Indians on board."

"The news was picked up by British press. The Vancouver daily "Province",
published the inflammatory news report under the heading of "Boat
Loads of Hindus on Way to Vancouver". The British Columbia press
began giving such headlines to their articles as "Hindu Invasion
of Canada".

The news of its departure reached the British Columbia authorities.
Their instant reaction was that "Hindus would never be allowed to
land in Canada." The Indians who had already settled in Canada had
also started to prepare for the arrival of the Komagata Maru. Meetings
were held in the Gurdwaras concerning what actions to take. Money and
provisions were collected to help the passengers upon their arrival in
Vancouver. The entire Indian community in Canada united to fight the opposition.

On May 23, 1914, the Komagata Maru reached Vancouver and anchored near
Burrard Inlet. Both the Indians and the Canadian authorities had been
waiting for it. The Canadians wanted to send the ship back to where it
had originated. The Indians on the other side had lawyers, money and other
provisions ready to help the passengers. The Canadian authorities did
not let the passengers leave the boat claiming they had violated the exclusionist
laws. The claim was that the ship had not arrived via direct passage and
most passengers did not have the $200 that would have qualified them to
enter British Columbia. For two months the passengers of the Komagata
Maru, the Indians in British Columbia, and the authorities of British
Columbia were involved in a heated legal battle. At the end of the two
months only 24 passengers were given permission to legally stay in Canada.
On July 23, 1914 the Komagata Maru was forced to leave Victoria harbor
and return to Hong Kong.

The Komagata Maru approached Calcutta on September 26, 1914. As it approached
Calcutta, a European gunboat signaled the ship to stop. The ship was put
under guard and the passengers were held as prisoners. Then the Komagata
Maru was taken to a place called Budge Budge, about seventeen miles away
from its original destination of Calcutta. These new developments took
the passengers of the ship by surprise. After two months of litigation
in Canada they were not interested in any new developments of this kind.
Upon inquiry by Baba Gurdit Singh as to the change of their course, an
official informed him that the passengers were being sent to Punjab via
a special train. Many of the passengers did not want to go to Punjab.
They had business to attend to in Calcutta, some wished to look for work
there, and most importantly, the passengers wanted to place the Guru Granth
Sahib, which they had taken with them on their journey, in a Calcutta
Gurdwara.

The British officials did not care what the passengers wanted. They
were going to be put on a train to Punjab and that would be the end of
it. But the passengers were adamant on going to Calcutta. They were the
rightful owners of the ship and the British officials had no reason to
keep them on the ship or send them to Punjab. They felt that some action
had to be taken, so they decided to march to Calcutta.

Their main purpose on reaching Calcutta was to hand over the holy Guru
Granth Sahib and to see the governor. The journey was long and after numerous
threats by the police, they were left with no choice but to head back
to Budge Budge. At Budge Budge, they were ordered to board the ship once
again. The passengers, led by Baba Gurdit Singh, refused. A policeman
attacked Baba Gurdit Singh with his baton but was stopped by a fellow
passenger. It was at this point that firing started. Baba Gurdit Singh
was carried to safety. But not all passengers were to be so fortunate.
Twenty-nine fell victim to the bullets of British officials and 20 died.
Here was another senseless massacre of innocent Indians at the hands of
the British. The was the tragic end of the passengers of the Komagata
Maru.

The Komagata Maru returned to India's waters on September 26, 1914,
leaving behind only twenty-four passengers who could prove residence in
Canada. The repercussions of the Government's actions - the Budge Budge
riot. The radicalization of those abroad, the vigilante action against
informers, the murder of Hopkinson, the execution of Mewa Singh, were
overshadowed by the outbreak of World War I, in August 1914.
Today the only reminders of this incident are a plaque near the Gateway
to the Pacific in Vancouver, B.C.and a memorial plaque at Ross Street
Gurdwara, in Vancouver, B.C, Canada.

This articles was written by Ted Sibia for
the "Pioneer Asian Immigration to the Pacific Coast"

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